"This isn't right?! This plot development is all wrong!"
Puck's tiny paws were pressed firmly against the wall, his fur bristling with fear. He stared in disbelief at the completely unfamiliar Carlisle before him, the knight who was always gentle and polite, now surrounded by a storm of magic that threatened to tear the entire room apart.
"Is he serious? Is he not considering Lia's reaction at all? Isn't he a knight who swore loyalty to Lia?!"
Cold sweat trickled down Puck's cat-like face. He desperately tried to sense Carlisle's emotional fluctuations, but only read a chilling, bone-deep killing intent.
"Was I wrong in my judgment before?! Is this guy the type to sacrifice the few to save the many?!"
Cracks spread across the wall behind him. Puck finally realized he had made a fatal mistake; it was utterly foolish to joke about the world's survival when he clearly possessed world-ending power.
"W-wait, wait!" Puck's voice completely changed pitch, his small paws flailing wildly in the air, "I completely understand your concerns! But can you please calm down first? If you kill me now"
"Lia will break down! She's had no parents since she was little; I raised her myself!"
Puck continued to shout, his voice filled with unprecedented earnestness. "I swear I won't avoid problems again! I'll face them like a true man! So please… just put the sword down… at least for Lia…"
For Emilia… This was no lie to save his life. The great spirit's trembling cheeks and dull fur proved that beneath the always-jovial cat-like exterior lay a father's most primal fear; he had given all his love and tenderness to that silver-haired half-elf girl.
Emilia was his everything, which was why if Emilia died, he could mercilessly unleash his hatred upon the entire world without guilt.
Puck's plea froze in the air. He despairingly realized that not only did Carlisle's longsword not waver an inch, but it began to greedily devour the surrounding magic. The light in the entire room twisted and flowed towards the blade, and a white glow solidified into an almost tangible pressure on the edge.
"No! I… I really understand! I'll talk to Lia properly! But… only the truth of the contract… please don't tell her! This is the limit of what I can concede! We can discuss all other conditions"
"Bang!"
The terrifying magical pressure suddenly intensified, and Puck's entire body was slammed hard onto the floor. The expensive floor "crunched" as spiderweb-like cracks appeared, and he felt as if his body was being squeezed into a ball. But what made his hair stand on end more than the physical pain was this.
One step, two steps… The knight's figure approached, his longsword trailing a dazzling white light. When he stopped in front of Puck, the tip of the sword slowly rose, then pointed vertically downwards, stopping less than three inches from Puck's nose.
"He's really going to kill me?! Isn't this just a deterrent during negotiations?!"
Puck's pupils contracted violently with fear. He could clearly feel the bone-chilling cold emanating from the sword tip that was not a bluff, but genuine killing intent.
"Waaah! Wait! Please, stop it!" Puck's small paws scratched deep marks into the floor, "If you kill me now, Lia will really break down! And Roswaal… you won't be able to explain it to him either!"
"That's right! I'm a Royal Selection Candidate's contracted spirit! If you lay a hand on me, the Divine Dragon might not be pleased!"
Carlisle did not respond to his cries. Instead, he began to chant obscure incantations. Although Puck had lived for hundreds of years, he had never heard such a language, but instinct told him that this was definitely not a spell of absolution.
"Cough… That contract's contents weren't made by me!" Puck struggled to lift his head under the magical pressure, "And I haven't done anything right now! For you to execute me so arbitrarily… don't you think that's too selfish?!"
Carlisle slowly raised his longsword, the white light on the blade condensing into an almost tangible sharpness… He was really going to do it?
"…Don't tell Lia, protect her."
Puck resignedly closed his eyes.
The next second the longsword, glowing with magical energy, pierced through his body.
Pain!
An unimaginable, tsunami-like agony swept over him, almost instantly shattering Puck's consciousness. The great spirit should not have felt such intense pain.
The mana that made up his body was violently stirred and torn by the sword's magic; every wisp of magic screamed. His body felt as if it were being carved from within by countless red-hot blades, every inch slowly and cruelly dissected.
"Ugh…!"
Puck's throat squeezed out inarticulate whimpers and gasps, his tiny body twitching violently, limbs spasming uncontrollably, as if his life force was being drawn out by some irresistible power.
His vision began to twist and spin, the world shattering before his eyes into countless shimmering fragments.
He wanted to struggle, to escape, but his body was already out of control, only able to surrender to the tearing pain raging within him.
This was no ordinary pain.
The magic on the blade was like a greedy parasite, gnawing at his core. He could even clearly feel his body was being stripped away.
His consciousness was being churned and dissolved, only a sharp buzzing remaining in his ears, as if a thousand needles were stirring within his skull.
"Li…ya…"
Puck tremblingly squeezed out the name, a sweet, metallic taste in his throat, though he shouldn't have had the sensation of flesh and blood.
Why?
This thought struggled to surface amidst the chaotic agony.
Carlisle could have killed him cleanly. Why did he have to endure such an abnormal torment?
"Ugh… ah…!"
His paws spasmed, scratching the ground, but he couldn't even feel the pain of his claws breaking, because his entire nervous system was already submerged by a more terrifying sensation of pain. He wanted to scream, but his vocal cords felt as if they had been melted, only able to emit hoarse gasps.
Why… didn't you just kill me…!
Just as his consciousness was on the verge of collapse.
"Whoosh!"
Surging magic suddenly poured into his shattered body!
"Hmm…?! "
Puck suddenly arched his back. This felt like someone pouring molten lava into his veins, then forcibly nailing his fragmented body back into shape with ice picks.
He heard the sound of his "body" reassembling, like someone gluing shattered porcelain pieces back together, each click accompanied by the searing pain of nerves being burned.
"This is a seal."
Carlisle's voice came from above, as cold and hard as if pronouncing a verdict.
"My magic pulverized your body and embedded a spell during its reassembly." His sword tip still rested on Puck's chest, the chill in his blue eyes even more intense than the sword's gleam, "If you attempt to freeze the world"
The sword edge suddenly pressed down an inch.
"This seal will instantly tear your soul apart."
Puck gasped violently, his scattered gaze finally focusing. He saw Carlisle's expression, it wasn't the arrogance of a victor, but a weary determination… So that's how it was.
He understood; this knight didn't revel in execution… but was using the most extreme method to create a safeguard for the world.
"What a… brutal 'contract'…"
Carlisle silently sheathed his sword.
But this wasn't all. Carlisle was preparing to go to the Astrea mansion now, to hand the "key" to the seal to Reinhard. If the seal failed due to an accident… and something happened to him as well.
The Sword Saint would become the final executioner.
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.